Its presence in Tokyo is a miracle. Dorian Keletela, a young 22-year-old sprinter, will line up for the 100-meter event to defend the colors of the international refugee team. After fleeing Congo alone five years ago, a country with which he has completely forged ties, it is in Portugal that the athlete now dreams of a fate like Francis Obikwelu, his idol and his new coach.
Summer 2016, in Lisbon. In the foyer that has recently welcomed her, Dorian Keletela looks at the opening of Olympic Games in Rio on TV. For the first time, a team of refugees participates in an Olympics and enters the Maracanã Stadium to thunderous applause. The 17-year-old does not dare to dream about it yet, but his turn will come …
The urgency, for him, is elsewhere. Orphan since his childhood, the boy from Kinkala, The Democratic Republic of Kongomust acclimatize to his new country, Portugal, after being forced to flee his. “The only thing that drove me to leave my country is that we do not respect human values in Congo. There is no freedom of speech. Ethnic wars in the pool also made me leave. The basic thing is freedom. Without freedom, what good is living? “, He says.
Placed on a plane by his aunt, an activist guarded by the Congolese regime, Dorian asks for asylum as soon as he lands in Lisbon. Portugal grants it and welcomes it. Tossed between two homes and the boy then went into athletics. And very quickly, over the queen distance of 100 m, he got the powder to speak: “The first year I came, I did 10’48. That’s when I started telling myself that maybe I should make it my job, to have future prospects. After that I was injured for two years, I just came back last year. I did 10’46, the best performance in Portugal. ”
” THEsprinter with crooked feet “
From the height of his 1.75 m and strong of exceptional physical qualities, Dorian got a nickname in the Portuguese press: “the sprinter with twisted feet”. Nickname that he formally rejects: “I do not have crooked feet!” It’s just my way of walking. “
In any case, his special profile captures the Portuguese Olympic Committee, which submits a candidacy. Then nothing, until the unexpected news fell last month: Dorian is really chosen in the international refugee team and will be able to stand up to 100 m at Tokyo Olympics.
Since then, the 22-year-old athlete has been riding his crop under the Lisbon sun. “At the moment I’m at 10’55. What blocks me is that I can not repeat what I do in training. I know I can do less than 10’20, 10’15 … I hope that in the next competition it will come out “he adds.
“Francis is a source of inspiration for me. It’s a model “
He now dreams of only one thing: to embrace the fate of Francis Obikwelu, his new coach, who arrived in Portugal as an illegal immigrant in 1994, before winning the 100m silver medal ten years later at the Athens Olympics.
“Francis means a lot to me. He also arrived at my age in Portugal, he went through a lot, but he succeeded. He won medals, broke records and does a lot for Portuguese sports. Today, Francis is a source of inspiration for me. He is a model, says the athlete.
The European record holder over 100 m (9’86), he assures us that the development of his stallion takes time: “I do not do a miracle. Every athlete is different, as are their characteristics. I think you can talk about him at European and world level. If he goes fearless, it is possible. “
His attitude towards Dorian is above all psychological. Dorian talks very little. When I got to know him, I quickly saw that he was on the defensive, some say aggressive because of what he went through as a child. I started talking to him to free his mind, head and heart. I talk to him and have fun with him as if he were my son, so that he understands that he has a family here. It helped him a lot “, testifies the coach.
Dorian is now waiting to live her Olympic dream in Japan. And to free himself from his suffering in its rapid wake: “[Les JO], it will also be an opportunity for me to convey the message that no matter what situation you may go through in life, you can always overcome it and succeed with faith, conviction and determination, he concludes.
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